


"There's nothing left."

by RiskPig



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M, Rumbelle - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-22
Updated: 2014-10-22
Packaged: 2018-02-22 05:47:17
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 880
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2496713
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RiskPig/pseuds/RiskPig
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What if Belle reacted differently to Rumple casting her out?</p>
            </blockquote>





	"There's nothing left."

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted on my tumblr back in May.

As she strode into the Great Hall, dressed in a red velvet gown chosen for its plunging neckline, Belle focused on the bruises and scrapes that brought her here. All the sinking and climbing. The saving. And the killing.

And it was worth it. Because Belle was finally home.

She knew the door would open. They always opened for her. Entering without word or gesture, her vision adjusted to the sudden darkness. He replaced the curtains, the silly man. True to character, he isolated himself from the world to wallow. He was spinning at the wheel, hiding away from all things that made him a man.

Well, that just wouldn’t do. If Belle were to get through this, she needed him to face her. Taking one last look in her hand mirror, she checked her rouge. Her eyes had lost the naivete of youth; their vibrant, diamond blue had dulled, lacking the lust for new sights and adventure. All that remained in her eyes was the desire to have this moment at last.

She tossed away the mirror, stepping through the broken glass. Her Rumple was so lost, he did not even hear her.

Stopping just short of the stool, Belle watched him spin. He still made an impressive sight, all golden scales clad in expensive leathers and feathers. Before, she could never admit to herself that she used to watch him walk around in those fine skins, but now, she regretted repressing those urges to just reach out and touch.

No time like the present, as they say.

The moment she placed her hand on his shoulder, he jerked, and her stomach rose to her chest. If he did anything before she gave her peace, she was never going to get through this. But he did nothing. Nothing to  _her_ , anyway. Rumple stopped spinning, and made space for her on the stool, avoiding her gaze. She sat down.

"I felt you the moment you started climbing this mountain," he whispered. "But I didn’t want to believe it was you."

He wasn’t looking at her. She didn’t want to say anything until he looked at her. Moments passed as he stared at his hands, and she stared at him. It could have been minutes. It could have been hours. However long it was, she was starting to lose her resolve when he finally spoke again, turning towards her.

"Belle, I…" And at last, their eyes met. Her cold blue piercing into his warm gray.

"Belle. I’m so sor-"

She gently shushed him, her finger on his lips. They felt so soft. He trembled as she ran her hand through his hair, gently passing through the tangles. Those big eyes, once upon a time looking past her, purposely missing her, were now fixed on her face. Glassy. Unmoving. He was afraid. And she was glad. Because she was afraid, too.

Belle leaned in closer, and he did the same, mouths open. The air grew heavier, lulling them past a precipice between sorrow and content. As she ran her hand down the side of his face, pulling him even closer, his eyes had slowly shut, a light moan escaping him as she stroked his cheek.

-

_Her servitude. His cruelty. His kindness. Her warmth. His recoil. Her persistence. His companionship. Her love. His wrath. Her pain. His regrets._

-

Belle kissed him. Softly, with all of her love and every unspoken urge surging through her lips. She didn’t have to open her eyes to know the magic was working. It was coursing through her, her soul rising to an ecstasy unknown to those that had never experienced true love. He leaned into the kiss, taking control. He wrapped his arms around her, and for a moment, she wished that things were different. That she had never met Regina. That he had never hurt her. That she never ran away. That she never came  _back_. And worst of all… that he would never let her go.

Rumple, her beautiful Rumple, pulled away… and there it was. The man she always knew was sleeping beneath the monster. Soft, and tired, with the deepest golden-brown eyes. It was impossible to love him any more than she did at this very moment.

Belle ran her dagger through, straight into his liver.

Silence. The air stilled around them, and for a moment, Belle thought maybe it didn’t happen. But then her hand felt warm. And wet.

"What," her Rumple coughed. "What’s happening?"

The man’s eyes pleaded with her, and Belle tried her damnedest to remember the monster.

"I’m…" She had to do this. There was no going back. "I’m killing you the only way you can be killed, Rumplestiltskin.

"True Love’s Kiss.

"Legend says the Dark One can only be killed with the dagger bearing his name. So I had to kill the man. And this dagger?

"Bears  _my_  name.

"Because killing you would be the same as killing myself. Not a hard feat, either. You’ve already killed the woman with a future. With a father, and a destiny. And then the woman that hoped her future could be with you.

"And that’s fine. Because now you can have the last piece.

"You can die with the woman that loved you more than anything in this world.

"And now…


End file.
